Germanus of Granfelden
Saint Germanus of Granfelden | |
|---|---|
 Shoes of St Germanus of Granfelden atMusée de Cluny -- Musée national du Moyen Âge | |
| Born | c.612 Trier |
| Died | 675 near Moutier (in the modern-daycanton of Bern,Switzerland) |
| Venerated in | |
| Canonized | Pre-congregation |
| Feast | 21 February |
Saint Germanus of Granfelden(c. 612inTrier[2]– 675 nearMoutier) was the firstabbotofMoutier-Grandval Abbey.He is venerated as a martyr saint in theCatholicandEastern Orthodox Churches.
Vita
[edit]The "Life" of Saint Germanus is recounted in the eleventh-century "Passio sancti Germani",which appears in theVitae et passiones diversorum sanctorum.It was written about 695 by Bobolène, a priest probably ofMoutier-Grandval Abbeyand later atLuxeuil.It was composed at the request of the religious brothers Chadoal and Aridius, contemporaries of Abbot Germanus.[3]The manuscript of theVitaeis preserved as theCodex Sangallensis551 ('Codex of Saint-Gall' 551), housed in theAbbey library of Saint Gall.[a][4]
Life
[edit]Germanus was the second son of Optardus, a wealthy senator inTrier.His older brother became a courtier, while his younger brother Numerianus eventually succeededModoaldas Bishop of Trier.
Optardus entrusted the young Germanus to Modoald to be educated.[5]At the age of seventeen, Germanus decided to take up the monastic life. He left to joinArnulf of Metz,who had retired from the bishopric of Metz to a hermitage at a mountain site in his domains in the Vosges to become a monk.[6]
Germanus stayed for some time with Arnulf who gave him the tonsure and then sent him, with his younger brother Numerian who had come to join him, to the recently founded monasteryRemiremont monastery.Driven by a desire for greater perfection, he left with his brother and some religious forLuxeuil,whereAbbot Waldebertreceived him, conferred on him the priesthood, then around 640 sent him, to organize and govern the monastery of Granfeld (Monasterium Grandis Vallis) or Moutier-Granval, recently founded byGundoin, Duke of Alsace.Germanus served as abbot for 35 years.[6]His history with Remiremont, Luxeuil, and Granval show his connection to the network of Columbanian establishments. His contacts with Modoald, Arnulf, and Gundoin suggest he supported theArnulfings.[7]
According to legend, Gundoin's successor,Boniface, Duke of Alsacehad trouble keeping the people of the Sornegau from revolting. The situation became worse under his successorAdalrich, Duke of Alsace(known as "Eticho" ), who wanted to subdue the area aroundDelémont.Germanus and his priorRandoald of Grandvalmet him for negotiations nearCourtételle(southwest of Delémont). After discussions Germanus and Randoald were slain on their way back by supporters of the Duke.[6]The following night the religious collected the bodies and buried them first inSaint-Ursanne,then in Moutier-Granval.[8]
Veneration
[edit]Germanus and Randoald are regarded as martyrs and became very popular. Miracles reportedly took place at their tomb, which became a center of pilgrimage. The remains of the martyrs were then in 1477 transferred under the high altar. Their cult extended throughout the diocese of Basel and throughout the province of Besancon. The progress of Protestantism and a fire at the abbey which had become a collegiate church, of which nothing remains, led the canons to withdraw and transport the relics of the two saints to Délémont in the canton of Jura, where they continue to be venerated. The cult of Saint Germanus is still alive in the Catholic canton of Jura, where many churches are dedicated to him.
His feast day, shared with Randoald, is 21 February. Thecrosierof Germanus, one of the oldest remaining, is kept atMusée jurassien d'art et d'histoirein Delémont.[9]
Notes
[edit]- ^Images of the manuscript ofVitae et passiones diversorum sanctorummay be viewed online through the 'e-codices':Virtual Manuscript Library of Switzerlandproject; link to first page ofVitaeshown below:
- Presbyter Bobulenus, "Passio sancti Germani",Vitae et passiones diversorum sanctorum[Lives and sufferings of the Saints], Codex Sangallensis 551 (in Latin), pp. 106−125,doi:10.5076/e-codices-csg-0551,St. Gallen, Stiftsbibliothek (Abbey library of Saint Gall)
References
[edit]- ^Hutchison-Hall, John."21st February: Germanus and Randoald".Orthodox Saints of the Pre-Schism See of Rome.Retrieved14 April2023.
- ^Ekkart Sauser (1998). "Germanus von Münster-Granfelden". In Bautz, Traugott (ed.).Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL)(in German). Vol. 14. Herzberg: Bautz. cols. 1241–1244.ISBN3-88309-073-5.
- ^"Nos Saint-Patrons", Paroisse catholique romaine de Moutier
- ^Stékoffer, Sarah (1996).La crosse mérovingienne de Saint Germain, premier abbé de Moutier-Grandval (Suisse)(PDF)(in French). Porrentruy: Office du patrimoine historique, Société jurassienne d'émulation. p. 39.ISBN2-88436-005-0.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 14 August 2017.
- ^Baring-Gould, Sabine.The Lives of the Saints,J. Hodges., 1878, p. 361
- ^abcBoillon, Claude. "Saints Germano and Randoaldo", Santi e Beati, February 19, 2018
- ^Fox, Yaniv.Power and Religion in Merovingian Gaul: Columbanian Monasticism and the Formation of the Frankish Aristocracy,Cambridge University Press, 2014, p. 192ISBN9781107064591
- ^Butler, Alban.The Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Other Principal Saints,Volumes 1-3, D. & J. Sadlier, 1846, p. 440
- ^"Germain (saint)", Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz
External links
[edit]- The 'e-codices': Virtual Manuscript Library of Switzerland project home page(in German, English, French, and Italian)
- Germanus and Randoald story at Abbaye Saint Benoît(in French)(Archived)
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